An Earlier Meeting Than She Remembers
by LadyRhain
Summary: Locke remembers being little and meeting a green-haired girl with her adopted father Kefka, but, the green-haired girl, now older, doesnt. takes place a day before the final battle and no, this is not pairing Locke and Terra as anything but friends.


There was a calm aura that surrounded the flying ship as it silently hovered over the area outside the tower of Kefka waiting to finally rid the ruined world of its insane ruler.

Locke walked into the kitchen of the Falcon and looked around until his eyes stopped on a petite green-haired woman across the room who seemed to be in the middle of mixing several ingredients together for the group's last dinner before their final battle, as some thought of it to be.

"Locke." The girl said without even turning around to look and see who it was.

"Terra." He nodded and walked over to the table that sat on the opposite side of the room from the girl.

There was a silence that fell between them. It wasn't awkward, just one that indicated neither knew what to say but yet it was still just as comfortable to them both as carrying on a conversation. It wasn't just these two that would suddenly be quiet but be ok with it, everyone on the ship was like them. No one knew what to say to each other with the final battle coming tomorrow, but just wanted to be with each other.

"May I help you with something?" Terra asked, moving from the counter over to stand beside Locke who sighed. "You seem like you have something on your mind…you know, other than tomorrow."

"Well, I've spent time with everyone else but you today, talking about good memories, past battles, hopes of living and having a future, I figured it was time that I talked to you."

"Were you saving me for last?"

"In a way…"

"May I ask why?"

Locke shrugged, "I figured it would be the hardest to talk to you like we might be heading to our deaths since we've technically been together the longest." He looked down at the table and frowned, "You're like the sister I never had but always wanted…"

Terra gave a sad smile, "Then that would make you the brother I never knew I wanted but couldn't be more thankful for." Pulling out a chair after another long silence, she sat down next to him, "But, there's something else you want to say but don't know how to say it…am I right?"

Locke smiled, "It's like you're some sort of mind reader or something."

"It's something that you learn how to do over time with certain people. I can only read you and Edgar, but, as you said, I've been with you two the longest." She smiled, "Like right now, you're hoping I'll continue talking so you can gather your thoughts so that when you tell me them I'll understand because you feel as if you have a problem communicating things to people you care about."

Locke couldn't help but laugh, "Would it just be better if I just come out and tell you?"

"Probably." She smiled.

He sighed, " How much of your childhood do you remember?"

"Umm….not much…bits and pieces." She frowned, "Why?"

"I just wanted to know whether or not I should expect you to remember what I'm about to tell you." She frowned and tilted her head, "I …uh…I had actually met you once before this whole mess happened."

She stared at him for a second before she found her voice, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, "Believe it or not, when I was about eight, I met a green-haired little six-year-old girl after I ran away from home. She was traveling with a man much older than either of us…."

"_Here, Terra, take this into the tent, but try not to wake him up, ok?"_

_Locke turned onto his side and groaned. He didn't remember what exactly had happened…one second he was running away from his home, from his family and friends to chase a dream, and the next, everything went black._

_He squeezed his eyes tighter before opening them. There was a cloth wall in front of him and behind him; he was in a sleeping bag that he didn't remember bringing with him went he left home. _

_Just as he was trying to get his thoughts together, a girl with long green hair coming over her shoulders in two braids came through the flap of the tent with a bowl in one hand and a cup in the other; the girl was wearing a long dark blue dress with sleeves that must have hung down half a foot below her hands. She stared at him for a long moment before finally yelling, "Kefka! He's awake!"_

_She took her eyes off of Locke when a tall adult came into the tent, "Terra, I told you not to wake him up."_

"_But I didn't!"_

"_She didn't." Locke said, sitting up and looking back and forth between the two of them, "I was awake."_

_The girl, who he now assumed to be named Terra, looked up at the man, who he also now assumed to be named Kefka, and smiled victoriously causing the man to smile and shake his head._

"_Alright, Terra, you win. Sorry I yelled."_

_Terra smiled, "It's ok." _

_Kefka turned back to Locke, "Are you okay? We found you in the forest passed out. What were you doing?"_

_Locke frowned, "I was going to visit someone." He lied almost flawlessly, not sure whether or not to tell these two strangers the truth._

"_Who?" The young girl asked curiously._

"_My aunt." _

"_By yourself?" It now seemed that Terra would be handling questions._

"_Yes…"_

"_What about your parents?"_

"_My mom is dead and my dad told me to visit my aunt while he goes out of town." Locke was shocked at how quickly he was coming up with lies._

"_Why would a daddy send his child alone?" Terra frowned, obviously confused by the action Locke's father had "taken"._

"_Now, now, Terra, don't be nosey." Kefka warned._

"_But….I don't get it." She whined._

"_The answer is simple: not everyone can be as good a daddy as me." The man smiled._

"_Okay…" Terra frowned but took the answer._

"_With that settled," Kefka turned back to the boy, "where were you heading? We can take you there."_

_Locke thought for a minute, "Uhh…South Figaro…"_

"_Sounds good…we have to go there anyways to catch a ship back to the Southern Continent." Kefka moved out of the tent and held open the flap, pointing to a tent across a small fire, "Terra and I will be in that tent if you need us. Better rest up, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." _

_Locke simply nodded and watched the two leave him in his tent. He wasn't sure if he should let these people lead him around but traveling with them would be better than being alone at least._

_The next morning, he woke up to the smell of some sort of meet cooking. He walked out of his tent and saw the two sitting by the fire._

"_Good morning!" Terra sang out as he approached._

"_Hungry?" Kefka asked, holding out a plate with some food on it. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing."_

_Locke took it and ate it quickly while watching the two. It was obvious that the two were family…maybe not by looks for they looked nothing alike, but the way they treated it each like fathers and daughters would do._

"_Was it good?" Terra asked, interrupting his thoughts._

"_Yeah, it's good…" The answer caused the girl to smile._

"_Good to hear." Kefka nodded, "We'll be heading out soon."_

_Not much later, the three were heading out of their little campsite and walking through the woods. _

_Terra was entertaining Locke with small talk on just about every subject, the main one about how her long dress annoyed her in many ways, from its color to its length, which she complained was annoying and made it hard to run. Locke told her to just get a shorter dress or cut some off of the bottom of the one she was wearing. Not liking the idea, she changed the subject to his hair which she said needed to be cut more than her dress. Locke shook his head, hair swinging back and forth across his face; he liked his hair this length not short and not long, in the middle. All the while, Kefka tried his best not to laugh at the two children and their silly conversation._

_A few hours into the walk, they heard distant shouting from behind them. Locke was the first to turn around when he heard the voice, knowing all too well the owner of it._

"_Locke Cole!" The man yelled._

_Kefka looked down at the boy than back to the man, one was identical from the other except in age and skin color. Locke's skin wasn't pale, but it wasn't tan either, a perfect shade between them while the man's skin was much darker, probably from working out it the field or something._

"_I take it this man is your father?" Kefka questioned, causing Locke to hang his head and take a few steps in the direction of the man._

"_Is he coming to take you to your aunt now?" Terra tilted her head and watched Locke move forward._

"_I don't think so…" Kefka mumbled as the man approached._

_Before anything, the man drew his hand back and slapped Locke hard across the face._

"_What were you thinking, boy?" The man asked, obviously enraged._

_Locke gave no reply, earning his a slap on the other side of his face._

"_Look at me when I'm talking to you! And don't you dare ignore me! Answer my question!"_

"_Stop it!" Terra yelled back from behind Locke, beside Kefka, "Don't hurt him!"_

_The man turned his glare to the small girl who then hid behind Kefka, hugging his leg, "Just don't hurt him anymore…" She mumbled from behind him._

"_Stay out of this!" The man yelled out._

"_Excuse me, but, I take it you're his father?" Kefka asked._

"_What do you care?"_

"_Well, I was just wondering, really-"_

"_And you're her father?" The man pointed at Terra._

"_Well, yes and no…you see, she's adopted-"_

"_Doesn't matter! Learn to teach you kid some respect! Especially to adults!"_

_Kefka just stared at the man unblinking, looking confused, "She's very respectful towards adults, you don't see her disrespecting me, do you? You really need more evidence if you're going to say something like that."_

"_You saying I'm not an adult? She was disrespecting me!" The man yelled back._

"_You sure don't act like one." Kefka replied, looking rather bored. "Besides, I wouldn't say disrespecting you is what she was doing, more like, standing up for someone in the face of uncontrolled anger."_

"_Why, I oughta-"_

"_Locke," Kefka turned his gaze to the boy, "Are you ready to leave? We still have to take you to South Figaro."_

_Locke looked up at Kefka, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes and down onto two bruises that were now forming on either side of his face._

"_Who do you think you are? He's my son, you can't just take him."_

"_I'm not taking him, he's coming of his own free will because he obviously doesn't want to be with you. And I, good Sir, am Kefka Palazzo, general of the rising empire on the Southern Continent." Kefka stood up straight, arms folded in front of him; to Locke, it looked like he had just increased his size and was trying to look more powerful to fit the position he just claimed he had._

_The man then looked down at his son, obviously more enraged than before, and delivered a good kick in the stomach, "Is that ture?" Locke just looked up at his father as he laid there on the ground, "Weak, stupid boy! Leave, then! Not like I really wanted you around anyways!"_

_Kefka had to admit, he didn't think just saying what he did would make Locke's father leave, but he was happy when he saw the enraged man storm off, 'Must've been drunk or something.' Kefka thought to himself._

"_Kefka…." He looked down at Terra who had made her way over to Locke, "He's hurt…." She looked as though she would cry any second with the boy, just as if she felt his pain._

_Kefka came over and examined Locke's face then quickly reached in his bag and pulled out a potion, "I think we'll have to rest here for the night…" He undid the potion's top and handed it to the boy who took it slowly and began to drink it, "Locke, I have to ask, what is the real reason we found you alone and passed out yesterday?"_

_Locke cringed at the question but put the potion down to answer, "My dad doesn't like me…he hurts me a lot and says that it's my fault mommy's dead…I try to be good for him but he always hits me no matter what I do…" Locke stopped and began to cry again._

"_So you ran away…" Kefka finished his sentence and frowned, "What were you planning on doing with nothing to eat or drink? Nowhere to go?"_

"_Well…." Locke said through hiccups and tears, "A m-man came through my town…..he…he was a treasure hunter….I…he was real nice to me….I wanted to be like him…."_

"_Treasure hunting is what you were going to do?" Kefka asked and Locke nodded in reply. "Alright, Terra, let's set up the tents." The little girl nodded with still watery eyes; little to none of this made sense to her…how a daddy could be cruel to his son was beyond her._

"Do you remember any of that?" Locke asked as he watched Terra stare down at the table. She didn't give a reply for a few minutes and Locke was worried he had overwhelmed her.

"Locke…." She whispered out, he had to strain his ears just to hear it, "How…what happened next? You obviously didn't stay with us."

Locke sighed, "That night, a couple of silver lobos that had wandered away from Narshe, very far away, attacked our campsite. Kefka told us to run while he fought them off, so we did but one managed to slip away from the fight and follow us…I tried to distract the thing so you could run off, but I just ended up getting almost eaten before I could even try. That was when I really saw magic for the first time…you shot a quick Fira spell at him and it was all over." Locke watched Terra as he told his tale, watching for any sign she would give that it was too much to handle, "Of course, being only eight, I was freaked out and ran away from you and Kefka. A day or so later, I found myself in a desert and, once again, passed out. When I woke up, I was in Figaro castle. Many doctors told me I had desert fever or something like that…when I recovered, I was taken to the throne room to meet the king of that time, who just so happened to be the one that found me and took me back to Figaro. He offered to let me stay with him a few years, which I did, and over those years I met and became friends with Edgar and Sabin…but mainly Edgar because Sabin kept to himself those days."

"Did it every occur to you when you met me back at Narshe a year ago that I was that girl?" Terra finally looked up at him and gave a soft smile, "How many girls have this color hair?"

"You don't understand, as I got older, because the whole experience of meeting you and Kefka then seeing magic seemed so distant and crazy to me, I thought it was just a weird dream I had during the whole desert fever thing….I didn't ever think much of it until lately." Locke frowned.

"Well, at least you've thought about it. You could've just continued to push it off, I suppose." Terra looked back down at the table. "I remember the last part of what happened, though…" Locke watched Terra for a second to see if she would continue.

"The part about the lobo attack?"

"No…the part about you running away…" She frowned, "I was hurt…You had run away because you were afraid of me and what made it worse was some time before that, I had used magic in front of Celes and she had a similar reaction and still acted fearful around me for some time after. Kefka found me a few minutes later and I asked him if I was the only one who could use magic, if I was different then all the other children of the world, but he didn't answer, instead he watched the fire that was still burning from my attack and said that it was impressive I casted a Fira spell and that he was proud…."

Terra trailed off and looked back up at Locke who was leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling, "Terra, I'm sorry…It's just…"

"You were afraid. It's ok, Locke, I'm not angry with you or still hurt to this day or anything." She sighed, "I just still wonder about myself sometimes…wonder about people sometimes…I think that, from me scaring you and Celes when I was younger, that's why I'm cautious to use magic now even though I need to in order to fight, I don't want to scare anyone…"

"And you don't." Locke sighed and looked back down at her, "If anything, people always feel welcomed around you, not fearful, it's just not the message you give people." He then shrugged, "Besides, if I had stayed with you and Kefka, where would I or any of us be today? Probably dead along with the other Imperial soldiers."

Terra smiled, "Thank you, Locke, for telling me that forgotten memory…and for not being afraid anymore."

Locke laughed, "None of this would be possible without you, so I should be thanking you…but, never the less, you're welcome. Besides, what kind of older brother would I be if I was afraid of my sister?"

Terra and Locked laughed for a few minutes until the room fell into that comfortable silence again.


End file.
